Approximately 1,900,000 BC: Some hominids are perhaps making use of fire to cook vegetables (and undergoing revolutionary changes in sexual relationships and matters of social cooperation); cooking helps extend lifespans in several ways

AUTHOR'S NOTE: In regards to fire, it bears repeating here that humanity's use of fire remains extremely fragile over most of this time-- for they cannot start a fire from scratch.

Rather, someone from a group must either capture a flame from a natural forest fire ignited by lightning, then the group must do their best to maintain the flame into perpetuity, or else the group must try to steal or trade for a flame from another group in possession of such.

The lack of fire-starting technology and the relative rarity of local natural fires (perhaps occuring only once in a generation) combine with the usefulness of fire to make it one of the rarest and most valuable commodities known to early man.

-- lamp; Encyclopedia Britannica ["http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/printable/4/0,5722,46974,00.html"], found on or about 2-16-2000, and fire; Encyclopedia Britannica ["http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/8/0,5716,34938+1,00.html"], found on or about 2-16-2000

END NOTE.

Millions of years ago human predecessors gained a survival advantage by beginning to mimic animals via speech. Now they are beginning to mimic one other (other hominids). This may mark the beginning of human civilization. It may also signify the first root of religion.